• Pakistan remains deeply concerned about situation in Gaza: FO.
• “We strongly condemn Israeli aggression, blockade,” says spox.
• Israel agrees on deal to allow goods cross Rafah crossing into Gaza.

Amid the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, Pakistan is sending assistance for Palestinians reeling from Israel’s relentless bombing.

“A chartered aircraft carrying 100 tonnes of essential medical supplies, tents, and blankets will depart from Islamabad for Egypt this afternoon. From Egypt, these items will be transferred to the people of Gaza,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at a weekly press briefing on Thursday.

Israel’s unabated airstrikes on Gaza have claimed nearly 3,500 lives while thousands of others are injured. Entire city blocks have been levelled, water, food and power have been cut off, and over one million people have been displaced.

Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel has claimed more than 1,400 lives — and the conflict has set off a wave of fury across the Middle East against Israel and its Western allies.

At the media briefing today, the FO spokesperson said Pakistan remains deeply concerned about the situation of “our Palestinian brothers and sisters” in Gaza.

“We strongly condemn the Israeli aggression and blockade, particularly the recent attack on a Gaza hospital. Israel’s actions violate international humanitarian and human rights law,” she added.

The FO spokesperson further said deliberate attacks against civilian targets constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. “We call for an immediate ceasefire; an end to the siege of Gaza; and the facilitation of humanitarian corridors for unrestricted relief supplies.”

The development came as Israel agreed on a deal for an initial 20 trucks carrying relief goods to cross the shuttered Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza, with the first deliveries expected Friday at the earliest.

More than 100 trucks carrying aid goods have been queued for days on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, the only entry or exit point to Gaza not controlled by Israel.

Cairo has so far kept it closed, pointing to repeated Israeli strikes near the crossing and voicing fears that Israel may be hoping to permanently drive Palestinians out and into Egypt´s Sinai desert.

On the Gaza side, scores of people were again waiting, desperate to flee, but careful to keep a distance of about 100 metres (300 feet) in case of new Israeli strikes.

There are fears of worse to come if Israel launches its anticipated ground invasion aimed at destroying Hamas and rescuing Israeli and foreign hostages, whose known number Israel on Thursday revised up to 203.

Referring to the urgent Ministerial Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee held in Jeddah yesterday, which was co-convened by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Baloch said Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jillani stressed that the core issue underlying the conflict was the failure to implement the two-state solution. 

The FM reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering support for Palestinian self-determination and advocated for the establishment of a secure, contiguous, and sovereign Palestinian state, she added.

“The Joint Communiqué adopted after yesterday’s meeting reflects the unified stance of the Muslim Ummah on the Gaza situation. Pakistan has been actively engaged in consultation with OIC member states as part of our contribution to developing this consensus,” the FO spokesperson said.